The NHL's revamped All-Star Game format will return in 2015 as two captains have been designated to draft teams rather than the traditional East vs. West format.
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The NHL revealed Wednesday that Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks will be one captain while Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno will serve as the other for the game on Jan. 25 at the Blue Jackets home rink in the Nationwide Arena.
Joining Toews as alternate captains will be Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and former Blue Jacket Rick Nash of the New York Rangers while Foligno will have Drew Doughty of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane as his assistants.
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Team Toews is the road team and will be coached by Nashville Predators coach Peter Laviolette while the home squad Team Foligno will be led by Kings leader Darryl Sutter.
Here are five potential first round picks for Toews and Foligno in the draft on All-Star weekend.
1) Duncan Keith: Keith was one of five Blackhawks (Toews, Kane, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford) to be voted in as one of the first six All-Stars along with Buffalo Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons. With Toews as a captain on one side and his teammate Kane paired up with Team Foligno, it is highly likely the bruising defenseman gets picked high in the pecking order. Keith leads the Blackhawks and is fifth in the NHL among defenseman with a 25:57 average time on ice per game. Keith also leads all Chicago blue liners with 20 assists and 26 points.
2) Pekka Rinne: The Nashville Predators netminder makes his first All-Star Game appearance after a solid first half of the season. The goaltender leads the NHL with 29 wins this season and has been in net for every one of Nashville's victories thus far. Rinne ranks second in the NHL with a 1.96 goals-against average and .931 save percentage and has three shutouts on the season, which ranks tied for third in the league.
3) Tyler Seguin: While the Dallas Stars have struggled on this campaign, Seguin has been red-hot. The Stars MVP candidate is tied for the NHL lead with 26 goals and ranks tied for third in the league with 48 points at the midway point. Seguin has a plus-three rating this season and has also shown his ability to make plays, notching 22 assists that place him second on the Stars.
4) Sidney Crosby: It's hard to discuss a skill game without looking at the Pittsburgh Penguins captain. "Sid the Kid" is tied for the NHL lead with 35 assists and ranks second on the Penguins with 47 points. Arguably the best player in the NHL, Crosby rates at a plus-10 this season and has 17 power play points. Evgeni Malkin is another alternative as he leads the Penguins in points (49), goals (19), power play goals (8) and power play points (18).
5) Jakub Voracek: The Philadelphia Flyers forward is a Hart Trophy candidate as he leads the entire NHL with 52 points and ranks tied for the league lead with 35 helpers. Voracek also paces the Flyers with a plus-12 rating and 17 goals thus far this season.
All five of these players would make great first round picks for Team Toews and Team Foligno when the NHL presents the 60th All-Star Game live from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 25.
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